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Haiti: What of the Rule of Law?
Statement of
Jocelyn McCalla
Executive Director, a.i.
New York,
March 21, 2004 -- If Haiti is to rid itself of its destructive
cycle of lawlessness and political upheavals, its leaders must
resolutely break with the past to rapidly establish and promote
respect for human rights and the rule of law. Unfortunately,
this does not appear to be the transitional government’s
priority.
Interim
Prime Minister Gérard Latortue visited Gonaïves on March 20 to
hail as freedom fighters the “cannibals,” a group of thugs who
took up arms against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in order
to settle scores with him. They blamed Mr. Aristide – whom they
once supported -- for the murder of their leader, Amiot Métayer.
They have been in control of the city of Gonaïves since last
December when they drove away the police and other governmental
authorities.
Mr. Latortue
was accompanied on this visit by Justice Minister Bernard Gousse
and OAS Representative David Lee. But for all the hoopla that
greeted this occasion, Mr. Latortue came away only with a
hastily crafted wooden key to the city of Gonaives. At the very
least he succeeded in fanning the flames of lawlessness. The
thugs refused to give up control of the municipality and to
disarm. And they threatened to overthrow the interim government
should they decide that things were not to their liking.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with the Prime Minister was Jean
Tatoune, a notorious lawbreaker with a nearly twenty-year long
history of human rights crimes under his belt. Tatoune should
have been in jail instead.
Prime
Minister Latortue may have aimed for precious time, but he has
sent the wrong signals to Haitians seeking durable peace and
justice, closing perhaps quickly the window of support that
Haiti enjoys among people of good will in domestic and
international spheres.
We strongly
condemn the unholy alliance which the interim government has
struck with the Gonaïves rebels. We note that such unholy
alliances, in place since 1994 when President Aristide returned
from exile, have weakened rather than strengthened law
enforcement and governmental authority. We note with alarm the
apparent acquiescence of international community representatives
to a wrong-headed strategy that among other things increases the
risks to international peacekeepers.
We call on
the transitional Haitian government to reverse course and state
forthrightly that criminality and warlordism have no place in
Haitian society, and to take the steps necessary to re-establish
state authority. This includes an aggressive disarmament
campaign with the active support of international peacekeepers
and police forces. We call on Haiti’s international allies to
also disassociate themselves with thugs and to redouble efforts
at peacebuilding by committing more troops and accelerating
their deployment to the country.
Most
importantly, a judicial system that treats every Haitian equally
regardless of social, economic or political status is long
overdue. Let its advent not be postponed any further.
### END ###
For Further
Information, Contact:
Mr. Jocelyn
McCalla
Executive Director
National Coalition for Haitian Rights
275 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10001
W: (212) 337-0005; F: (212) 741-8749; C: (862) 452-7196
Email:
jmccalla@nchr.org;
www.nchr.org
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